The Warmth of Winter
by 13bookworm
Summary: IT'S BACK! PREQUEL TO 'QUEST FOR THE QUEEN'. What started out as a simple mission to help the winter fairies leads to a chance encounter. A series of events will bring together an unlikely couple and a group of friends. But when Pixie Hollow is threatened everything begins to fall apart. Can Pixie Hollow be saved at an unforgivable price or will it be lost forever?
1. Chapter 1

Long ago, Neverland was just a dream, created by the minds of many, many children. Filled with pirates, lost boys, alligators, and fairies. The first fairies began with just an oak tree that one day just sprouted from out of the ground. From this great oak tree, four ministers were born. Each minister had his or her own season, their season corresponded with their name. A queen was born from the tree too. She was to be known as Queen Clarion. The queen protected the tree, which was soon named the Pixie Dust Tree, and each of the four seasons surrounded it. This tree generated pixie dust giving power to the Queen and the four ministers making them able to fly.

At the same time a sparrowman was born from a pixie dust fall, deep in the Winter Woods. He had the name of Milori and was able to fly as well. He was well built, muscular, and had silver hair. This forest soon was home to other fairies, but they had no wings and no one to rule them.

The Minister of Winter didn't prefer the cold of winter. Instead she lived in the Pixie Dust tree along with Queen Clarion and the other three ministers.

Milori ruled the winter fairies instead, and became known as Lord Milori, the Lord of Winter. He ruled with a kind, but, to an extent, firm hand. Helping the people he ruled over in creating homes, and teaching them about their unknown talents.

As time went on both sides gained more and more fairies. The warm fairies were born with wings, making it easier for them to use their talents, but the winter fairies continued to be born without. The winter fairies' talents and jobs became harder and harder though. Lord Milori found that his wings made jobs easier, and decided to journey to the pixie dust tree to ask that his people have them too.

"Now Lord Milori, ya must take caution, your wings were made for the cold of winter. It is unknown of what will happen to them or yaself in the warm seasons," the keeper stated as Milori prepared for his journey.

"I'll be riding one of the owls there, if something does happen he can bring me back," Milori assured.

The keeper, also known as Dewey, was about to protest but decided not to. His loyalty to the Lord of Winter often overcame his actions.

"It's for the good of the fairies!" Milori called as he exited the great library. Dewey let out a sigh, knowing that the intentions of the lord were for the winter fairies.

Milori let out a low trill and waited. Moments later a majestic snow-white owl appeared, wearing a jeweled rein and landed in front of him. The bird stood as Milori flew onto him. "To the pixie dust tree!" Milori called as the bird leaped into the air. The owl scaled over the mountains, and through the Winter Woods. A look of determination upon Milori's face. The edge of the Winter Woods neared, Milori wasn't going to turn back now. Then it happened and they were in the Autumn Wood.

It was several degrees warmer, for a moment he felt a surge of both excitement and nervousness but then it passed. The great tree was in sight, and it would be just moments before he would arrive. As the owl glided through the woods, they passed many Autumn fairies. Fast flying fairies zoomed up to them. Milori would look over and smile at them as they would smile back, then fly off. The owl rose above the trees, more birds following them. A baby blue bird struggled as it tried to fly beside them. Milori held out his hand, just touching the bird's wing. The blue bird then leveled out and began to fly with ease, and chirped in delight. Milori laughed, "Good, you can do it!".

The owl then broke off from the flock of birds, twisting and turning through the trees. The pixie dust tree was much larger in person. Many fairies were throughout the tree, most were tinkers. His owl spun through the branches of the great oak, leaves flying everywhere. Cheers let out, all throughout the tree. Near the middle of the tree was an clearing. Milori's owl dropped towards it, and Milori leaped off doing a mid air somersault and landing perfectly. He bowed as the nearby fairies cheered. Milori realized that now it was much warmer when he wasn't flying with the cool breeze. He turned and entered the tree.

Inside the four ministers stood, talking amongst themselves. Redleaf glanced over at Milori and quickly broke up the conversation. He was tall, not much taller than Milori, and wore a reddish suit made of red and golden leaves. "State your business!" he called.

"I am the Lord of the winter fairies, I have come to discuss some important matters with the queen!" Milori introduced himself.

"See, because you can't stand the cold, this sparrowman is doing your job!" Redleaf argued with Snow. She was thin and about the same height as the Minister of Autumn, she also wore a snow-white dress. They bickered back and forth for a few minutes. Milori dismissed the quarrel as irrelevant and carried on.

"Honestly, it's like you two are a married couple!" Hyacinth interrupted. He was taller than the others, and wore a suit made of fresh blossoms. The other two stopped bickering a moment, looked at each other in disgust. So then he too was dragged into the arguing as well.

"Now what could be so important that you have to speak with the queen herself?" Sunflower asked, obviously annoyed with the others. She was shorter than the others and wore a dress made of lilies. She seemed like the person to talk to at the moment.

Milori turned and exposed his wings to them. The minister gasped, even the ones bickering stopped to notice his wings. "You have wings!" Sunflower gasped.

"That involves my wanting to speak with the queen," Milori stated.

"He has wings, a frost sparrowman, no, no winter fairy has ever had wings. This is magnificent!" Redleaf cried.

"Excuse me," Milori began.

"We must tell the queen!" Hyacinth exclaimed ignoring Milori's attempt to intervine altogether.

"Tell me what?" a soft, warm voice interrupted. The ministers froze and made way for the queen. Her eyes grew wide, when she saw the sparrowman's wings. The queen was shorter than Milori, and had captivating sapphire eyes that he seemed to get lost in. Her shining golden-brown hair was pinned up, and she had both golden wings and a golden dress. She was the most beautiful and elegant fairy Milori had ever seen, he had trouble looking away. After a short moment he then cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"This is most peculiar, your wings don't break in the cold of the winterwoods?" Queen Clarion asked as she examined them.

"No..." Milori replied, the room began to seem blurry. He blinked his eyes to keep them in focus.

"Why have you come here?" Queen Clarion asked.

"Um..." he began. His mind went for a moment blank and he felt the room begin to spin around him.

"Are you alright?"

Milori tried to answer her but he couldn't speak, the words just wouldn't come out. He felt tired, lightheaded, and out of breath.

Queen Clarion asked him something else, but all he saw was her mouth moving, no words were heard. All he could tell was that something was wrong based in her look of concern. Milori dropped to his knees, everything becoming blurry again.

The ministers gasped, Queen Clarion stood not knowing what to do.

The last thing Milori saw was his owl leaping into the room screeching and everything suddenly faded to black.

* * *

Milori opened his eyes, everything still a blur. A voice could be faintly heard. He blinked many times to refocus his eyes. He was back in the keeper's library, lying down on the icy floor. Milori pushed himself off the floor, and walked clumsily over to Dewey's pedestal. "Ah you're awake, now what did I tell ya?" Dewey asked.

"What?" Milori puzzledly replied, everything that had happened in the past few hours was a blur.

"You're lucky the Minister of Winter knew what to do when ya passed out,".

"What happened? Why is my head throbbing so much?", Milori propped himself up against a pile of books as he spoke.

"Didn't you hear me?" the Keeper paused a moment, "It's too warm for winter fairies to stay in the warmer seasons, and after a while the heat weakens them. I'm just surprised ya lasted as long as ya did!".

"I take it I didn't speak with Queen Clarion then?".

"Ya did for about two minutes, but then ya passed out right at her feet,".

"Well that's not much of a first impression,". Milori turned to leave the library.

"Uh, where do ya think you're going?" Dewey asked.

"I said I was going to speak with the queen and ask her about the winter fairies having wings. Then that's what I'm going to do!". Milori continued his way to the door.

"Ya just passed out, don't ya think that's not the best idea?".

"My people come before me!" Milori answered as he walked out the door.

"Again with him, he's... stubborn," Dewey muttered and then continued his writing.

* * *

Queen Clarion stood discussing the soon to come winter, with the ministers. "There must be a more efficient way to get snowflakes to the mainland," Snow stated.

"Well maybe..." Redleaf began in an aggressive tone, but stopped when he noticed Sunflower glare at him.

"If we don't come up with a new plan, Winter won't be on time, and the Autumn fairies aren't prepared for a long Autumn!" he exclaimed.

"Now, panicking is not the answer, we still have time before the seasons change," Queen Clarion assured.

"May I make a suggestion?" Milori asked as he entered the tree.

The Queen's eyes widened at his presence, she was shocked that he even came back. "You've come back!".

"Yes, and I have a proposal that may just solve the problem,".

"And what might that be?".

"If you wouldn't mind, could we continue this elsewhere, a colder climate perhaps?".

"Very well then,".


	2. Chapter 2

"Wings! You ask that the winter fairies have wings! What kind of a proposal is that!" Redleaf stated.

Snow simply rolled her eyes at him, thinking that the only reason he made his outcry was because Lord Milori was a winter sparrowman.

"If my people have wings they'll be able to fly to the mainland," Milori explained as he stood at the edge of the Winter Woods.

"And what will that do about our seasons problem?" Sunflower asked.

"What it will do is provide more baskets to bring the snowflakes to the mainland," Clarion explained.

Milori was enchanted by her natural beauty and calmness, barely able to keep his thoughts on the initial task. Then he suddenly looked past her a moment. Just long enough to realize they were being watched. Two pairs of glowing eyes watched them from up in a nearby tree. A dark bird leaped off the branch it had been perched on and flew, what appeared to be, North.

"You!" Redleaf snapped.

Milori brought his attention back to the conversation.

"Why do winter fairies need wings anyway?" Hyacinth asked.

"Now why should that matter? The Lord of Winter must have a proper reason of his own to have come to us, risking his life, for his people. We needn't question his authority nor his loyalty to them. I say his proposal is a grand idea," Clarion declared.

"Really?" all four ministers questioned, Milori also joining them in their bewilderment.

Suddenly a loud ear splitting screech let out. Immediately Milori recognized the noise to belong to a bird, a crow to be exact. His thoughts began to race.

The ministers gasped and quickly fled when they saw the crow darting towards them. Queen Clarion stood frozen in fear, unable to tear away her horrified gaze.

Milori leaped into action and was quickly by her side, ready to defend her. With a swift motion the crow was suddenly skidding into the snow. He didn't exactly know what he had done, the past few seconds were all a blur to him. Instantly he turned to the queen to make sure she was alright, but suddenly he was pinned to the ground.

"Milori!" Clarion cried when she heard his grunts of pain.

The crow had him pinned to the ground and was pressing down hard on his chest. Milori could just barely gasp for air. A sharp pain occurred in his leg and everything began to blur again.

Clarion let out a terrified shriek as she cowered before a second crow. Milori quickly regained his focus and heaved the crow off of himself. Just as he was about to go for the second one it leaped out of his reach and sprung into the Winter Woods.

Milori stood and helped Clarion to her feet. Then suddenly the two heard a horrifying scream. He instantly recognized it to be one of a winter fairy. Blindly, he ran into the Winter Woods.

The scream kept crying out, as Milori searched desperately for the fairy it belonged to. Then, without warning Milori fell face down in the snow. He could feel the crow walking along his back. A loud screech let out and the crow was gone, Milori only saw a white blur rush past him.

When Milori stood up he saw, Phoebus, the owl he had ridden struggling with the crow. Then the scream cried out again, he quickly turned to see a winter fairy against a tree with a crow baying down at her. It suddenly looked towards him, it seemed ready to pounce, but instead it leaped into the air and retreated off towards the mountains.

Phoebus was then slammed into a nearby tree, but the crow was nowhere to be found. Milori turned back to the border, to see Queen Clarion face to face with the crow. She stood petrified with no emotion showing in her face, not fear or anything. The crow seemed as if it were speaking to her, whispering something to her.

It turned towards Milori, an evil look in its eye, and then it flapped away. Milori cautiously flew closer to the border as Clarion still stood motionless. "Queen Clarion," Milori spoke with great concern.

At the sound of his voice Clarion had regained herself and looked to him.

A wave of relief came over Milori but he when he tried to take a step closer to the edge of the border he dropped to his knees.

Surprise came over Clarion and she was instantly by his side.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he assured as he began to stand but fell back to his knees again.

"You can barely stand, let alone walk," she argued.

"So you think I can't take a few punches?".

Clarion let out an annoyed sigh and rolled her eyes. Then suddenly she touched her hand to his leg and he winced. "Hold still, the pain will only last a moment," she laughed.

Slowly the pain escaped him and so did his tension. Milori was amazed, how did she do that?

"Why did you stay? Why didn't you run like the others?" Clarion asked which made him regain his focus.

Milori knew exactly why, but he also knew why he couldn't tell her. "Would you believe me if I told you it was instinct?".

She was about to reply to him when there was a sudden crunch of snow. They both turned to see a winter fairy standing at the edge of the border. Milori stood up and walked awkwardly with somewhat of a limp towards her, "Flake? What are you doing here?".

"Oh, um..., I came to see the queen. You said she was beautiful," Flake began. Clarion smiled at Flake's answer.

"Now when did I say that?" Milori replied, his cheeks reddening.

"When you were passed out on the floor in the library,".

Milori sighed, "You're just lucky I was here to save you,".

"Lord Milori, I would have been fine, if I had wings. I could have just flown away, or even fought back like you did,".

"No, I only fought off the crows to protect you both,".

"Oh fine,".

Queen Clarion couldn't help but to smile at the fairy. Flake was young and spirited, it reminded her of another fairy she knew. Soon it would grow dark, and Milori prepared Phoebus to take Clarion back to the pixie dust tree. As he did so he glanced back to her and Flake.

"Come here, I would like to give you something," Clarion spoke to her softly. Flake slowly walked towards the queen and bowed to her. Clarion touched Flake's back and brought her hands slowly up into the air. As she did so thin, clear wings sprouted from Flake's back. She took a step back and watched as Flake gleefully admired her new wings. Flake slowly lifted off the ground, up into the air, testing them.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Flake squealed as she raced up to Clarion and hugged her.

"Its getting dark, we better get you back to the pixie dust tree, Queen Clarion," Milori stated as he approached them.

"Very well then," Clarion replied as they walked to the owl. Milori leaped on and proceeded to help her up as well.

"Flake return to the north side of the mountain, I will be there shortly," Milori called just before they leaped into the air. Clarion held tightly to Milori as they glided past. Flake waved to them, then turned back to the Winter Woods.

"She's going to be squealing like that for days," Milori stated as they flew through the Autumn Wood. Clarion smiled warmly.

The tree grew closer and closer, and as this happened many fairies began to fly around them. Milori's owl landed near the tree opening. Milori proceeded to leap off, then help Clarion down.

The ministers rushed over, "Queen Clarion! You're alive!".

"Yes, thanks to the Lord of Winter," Clarion replied.

"A winter sparrowman!" Snow emphasized.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know!" Redleaf retorted. Then the two bickered back and forth.

"I tell ya, those two are like a married couple!" Hyacinth stated.

Milori mounted back onto his owl. "Lord Milori!" Clarion called, just before they were about to leave. "Bring the winter fairies to the border tomorrow,".

Milori replied with a nod, a smile on his face. The owl leaped into the air and they were off.

* * *

As the owl scaled over the mountains, Milori could see the glow of the pixie dust fall. When he was closer he noticed a small figure dancing around it. There was a crowd of winter fairies surrounding the fall as well. The owl dove down towards the crowd and landed silently behind the talking fairy. "Lord Milori was pinned to the ground, and it looked like all hope was lost for saving the queen!" Flake exclaimed. Milori dismounted from the owl and approached Flake and the crowd who was staring up at her, lost in her storytelling. "Then Lord Milori shoved the crow off, and..." Flake continued. Milori put a hand to her shoulder and she stopped.

"That's enough for one night everyone, you all shall need your rest for tomorrow's journey to the border!" he announced. The crowd filled with talk.

"Everyone else is getting wings too!" Flake exclaimed with such joy.

"To your houses!" Milori called. The winter fairies began to file back to their homes.

"So I take the talk with Queen Clarion went well?" Dewey stated as he joined Milori.

"Other than the fact that she was almost killed, it went pretty well," Milori replied.

"Well, everyone's getting their wings and I call that a success!" Dewey continued, "Flake sure seems happy with hers,".

"Yeah," Milori laughed as they continued on to the library.

"Something seems to be troubling you?" Dewey questioned when they neared the library. The two stopped in front of the doors.

"Oh its nothing," Milori sighed.

Dewey eyed him, for Dewey was no fool and he knew that there was something for sure that was bothering him.

"I'm just concerned about Queen Clarion, after one of the crows had retreated, the other seemed as if it had possessed her or something. It actually seemed like it was speaking to her, then it looked over towards me and retreated as well. Queen Clarion still seemed possessed when I called to her, I just hope whatever the crow did to her is over," Milori explained.

"I've never heard about a crow or any animal being able to possess a fairy, especially a fairy of such a great power as the queen," Dewey replied, "but I'm sure the she is fine,".

Milori nodded and flew off.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Queen Clarion returned to the border and gave each of the winter fairies and sparrowman wings.

Lord Milori often glanced over to her and watched as she created each pair of wings, the Keeper's particularly. It all seemed like such a simple task for her as he observed the elegant motions of her hands. Her wanting to help others made her seem even more endearing. The Keeper nodded to her and then flew off, but looked back for a moment.

Queen Clarion paused a moment, the cold of the winter woods encasing her as she stood shivering. Her lips were practically blue and he skin seemed paler as she continued to stand. Milori took his owl feathered cape, which he only wore on the rarest occasions, and wrapped it around her.

"Thank you," she replied softly. He nodded back to her and resumed his post next to Phoebus.

The Keeper noticed a sudden glint in the two's eyes, most probably wouldn't have thought anything of it. Lord Milori's act of kindness seemed out of the ordinary, but then again the ruler was always surprising him. He knew there was something there, something more... a spark. Not bright and loud, but low and quiet. A feeling that was just beginning to emerge.

Dewey left with a grin upon his face, he knew something no other fairy or sparrowman knew, maybe not even Queen Clarion or Lord Milori. At least, not yet anyway.

No one knew that Dewey was right, no one knew how dangerous it was that he was right, but there was definitely a strong emotion brewing between the Lord of Winter and the Queen of Pixie Hollow, and it would be the key to their downfall.

* * *

To many, love is a weakness, but for some, love is strength and it draws one another together. It brings people closer in time of need.

Milori felt an urge to go back to the border late that night. He couldn't quite explain it but deep down he knew he had to go. The sky was dark and filled with storm clouds as the wind blew harshly. As he continued onward he saw a figure, Queen Clarion. "Your highness?".

She stood shivering as the snow and wind blew around her.

"We need to get you out of this storm!" Milori called to her, hoping she would hear him over the roaring wind.

Quickly he noticed a small cave that would shield them from the wind. Milori guided her inside and sat her down near the back wall. Then he kneeled down in front of her. "Queen Clarion, what were you doing out here?".

"I had come to return this,", Clarion held out his cape to him.

She suddenly shook from the cold. Milori took the feathered cape and carefully wrapped it around her. Then he sat down beside her.

Clarion leaned against the wall, still shivering intensely. Instinctively, Milori wrapped his arms around her to try and provide warmth to her. She was surprised by his gesture and also that she felt comforted by his warm embrace. When Clarion looked up to him she noticed his eyes were a kind, almost loving silver.

"Why are you doing all of this?" she asked after a moment.

"I couldn't leave you out there. By morning you'd have been frozen,".

Clarion couldn't help but to laugh even though it was probably true. It was odd though, here she was, alone with someone she barely knew, trapped in a snow storm. Yet strangely she was comforted by his presence.

He smiled warmly to her, "Try and get some rest,". It was late and it would most likely be hours before the storm would pass. Not only that, but she was in need of some well deserved sleep. The dark circles under her eyes suggested that the morning's early task had been more than effortless.

She nodded to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, soon she fell asleep. For a while afterward, Milori stared out the cave opening, waiting for the storm to stop. Eventually, he too fell asleep.

The next morning Clarion awoke to feel the heat of the sun that poured into the cave. Milori stood at the edge of the cave, looking out into the glistening snow-covered forest. After a few moments he glanced over towards her. A faint smile came across his face.

Slowly the two strode out of the cave and on towards the border. Once they were closer to the border Milori stopped and faced her. Then she held out his cape to him. "I hope it kept you warm," he spoke to her kindly.

She nodded, then suddenly something pushed her across the ice, into him. They turned to see that a lynx kitten was behind her. Clarion approached the small animal and held her hand out to it. The lynx sniffed it, then lowered its head and let her pet its soft fur. Milori approached the kitten as well and stroked it's neck as the lynx began to pur.

"Where did you come from?".

"Fiona? Fiona?" Dewey called, as if on cue, as he emerged from the trees. The lynx's ears perked up, and it bound towards him, knocking Lord Milori and Queen Clarion into each others arms. "I'm sorry, I'm try..." Dewey began, but then turned and noticed Milori and Clarion still in each other's arms, looking intently into each other's eyes. A smile slowly crept into his expression. "Let's go Fiona," he whispered. Then there was only Lord Milori and Queen Clarion, both content with each other.

It was only a few hours before Lord Milori returned to the north side. They had gone by so fast, but the only one who knew of his absence was the Keeper, but he wouldn't be the only one for long.

As the day went on, Milori longed to see her again. She made him feel wanted and it was the greatest feeling in the world. Throughout the day his thoughts often fell to her rather than work and at times he would scold himself, but that didn't stop him.

* * *

Flake noticed his absent mind, it was most peculiar for him to be like that. She would constantly glance over at him, for she wondered what he could be thinking. At one point he seemed to disappear altogether, both mentally and physically. He was no where to be found, until she saw him slip away into the woods. What was he doing? Where was he going? After moments of debating she decided to follow him.

As she went deeper and deeper into the woods she feared she had lost him. It was getting dark, she would have to leave soon and find her way back. What could he possibly be doing to have to be going this deep into the woods a this hour? Then suddenly she heard voices, and hid in the branches of a nearby tree. After a few moments she turned to see Queen Clarion and Lord Milori dancing in glow of the moon. She gasped at the sight, nothing like this had ever crossed her mind as a possibility of what he could be doing.

Suddenly a glow emanated from behind Flake. She turned and the glow wasn't there, but a glow was still coming from behind her. Flake looked over her shoulder to see her wings glowing. It amazed her, no one had never seen anything like it. Then the glow faded away. She turned back to where Queen Clarion and Lord Milori were. They were standing there in each other's arms. Flake noticed a faint trail of pixie dust distantly above them, and a little ways off was a figure flying away. A pair of fairy wings with a fading glow too. Flake turned back to Queen Clarion and Lord Milori, but they were gone too.

Flake had to get back before anyone, especially Lord Milori, noticed. He would wonder what she was doing. She could never lie to him, but what would he do, was the question. Aside from that she had to tell someone about her wings, and the only person that would believe her was the Keeper. Would he wonder what happened? Would he want the whole story? Flake had to tell someone, and the Keeper would be the safest to tell.

* * *

It was now true that more than just the keeper knew about the spark between Queen Clarion and Lord Milori, but there was one person who shouldn't have known. The king of the crows laughed maniacally as he stared into his glass orb. It showed smokey images of Queen Clarion and Lord Milori at the border. Then it whizzed by to a fairy that looked very much like Flake, but not exactly. Finally on to Flake as she leaped off the branch and into the air. A crow landed on his shoulder and let out a loud caw. "Soon my pet, soon," the man stated, which slowly turned into a deep laugh.


	4. Chapter 4

There are people who are destined to meet, and then there are people who meet out of pure luck. Whether you choose to embrace them is your own choice.

"Keeper, Keeper!" Flake called.

Dewey looked up from his book. "Where have you been?".

She stood trying to catch her breath. "Lord Milori... Queen Clarion... At the border... Dancing...".

"Haha, this is wonderful!". He sat her down in a nearby chair and handed her a cup of mint tea as he spoke with such glee.

"What?".

"I knew they gave interest in each other but...".

"What! You knew?".

"Of course I did, I'd be a yeti's uncle if I didn't pay attention to these kind of things,".

"So who else knows about, you know...".

"As far as I know just the two of us,".

Flake took another sip of her tea, the glint of light reflecting in her cup reminded her about what also happened. "Something else happened... at the border,".

"What? Did you see any crows?".

"Um... no. But something remarkable happened,".

Dewey's eyes widened with curiosity. "Like what?".

"Well my wings they began to glow, kind of beautifully too and...".

"So what you're saying is that your wings actually began to glow?".

"Yeah, but it's no big deal, I mean it was only for a minute,".

"No this is a very big deal, it'll be a chapter in my new book!".

"Ok, but it wasn't just my wings, there was another fairy there, her wings glew too,".

"Did you confront her?".

"No, I only noticed her as she flew off into the Autumn Wood,".

Dewey let out a small sigh of disappointment. After a few moments he spoke, " Can you do a job for me?".

"What kind of job?".

"I need you to watch Lord Milori when he goes down to the border,".

"You mean he'll go back again?".

"Most likely, this is the second time he's been down there with her,".

"Really? So you're asking me to do it?".

"Well of course you're the only other fairy who nows, I trust you, and so does Lord Milori,".

"He really trusts me?".

"Of course he does. Now you better get some rest,".

"Thank you,". Flake got up and began to walked to the exit, she turned back a moment. "Maybe I'll find that other fairy too!".

* * *

The next morning consisted of the normal duties of the day. Slowly the morning faded into the afternoon, and then into the night. Milori waited until the sun began to set to leave the winter fairies and sparromen, when they would be distracted most by activities that didn't consist of working.

Flake had kept an eye on him all throughout the day, waiting, hoping he would try and slip away without anyone noticing. This was quite distracting and she almost hit someone with one of her snowflakes. Dewey's job for her would prove more difficult than expected.

All of the fairies sat around a story telling fairy. That was when Milori had planned to leave. As the fairy began her story, Flake watched as he went into the woods. After a few moments she got up and began to follow him.

"Hey Flake, where you goin?" Milo, Flake's frost talent friend, asked. "You're gonna miss the story,".

Flake froze, what could she say, she couldn't tell him the truth, could she? No, the less who know about it now the better. He was bound to find out eventually... She had to stop bickering with herself and say something, anything. "I was going home, I was up late last night, now I'm really tired,". She faked a yawn, what she had told him wasn't entirely a lie, she had been out late last night.

"Ok then, suit yourself,". Milo then turned back to story teller.

Flake let out a sigh of relief and continued her journey to the border. She began to wonder how long she could keep this secret from her other friends as well.

Milo watched as she went into woods, the total opposite direction of her house. Something was up, but he knew that if he was a good enough friend she would eventually tell him why she lied.

When she reached the border Lord Milori was holding Queen Clarion closely in his arms. The two stared into the moon's reflection in the stream. Flake flew to a nearby branch and watched. She occasionally would here them speak, but she could never really make out what they were saying. Hours went by, but she didn't grow bored, she was truly fascinated by their love. Flake didn't know what love truly was but it seemed like a beautiful, wonderful thing by the looks of it.

* * *

With Clarion in his arms, Milori was at ease. He found himself constantly thinking about her and it felt good to leave the day to be with her. They simply enjoyed each other's company. Here they wouldn't have to worry about what others would think, because they were the only ones who knew. They were so different, yet alike in many other ways.

It hadn't even crossed his mind that someone could be watching them. But then again, he didn't care what anyone else thought. He only cared what Clarion thought right now. Occasionally he would get the sense that they were being watched but that feeling would quickly die down.

Milori and Clarion shared a good bye kiss before they parted ways. Tomorrow would be another day of work and they both needed sleep.

* * *

Flake turned to leave as well when her wings began to glow again. Lord Milori and Queen Clarion had been long gone. So Flake wasn't afraid of being spotted. She glanced around hoping to see the other fairy, she was just about to give up when she spotted her flying away on the opposite side of the border. Flake quickly flew to the edge of the border. "Hey!".

The other fairy looked back at her, puzzled. Then she flew up to the edge of the border, wings glowing just like Flake's.


	5. Chapter 5

"You look just like me!" the two stated to each other in unison. Both of them had the same smile of amazement. The sunflower yellow dressed fairy held out her hand, Flake did the same thing. When their hands met they noticed they both had the same dainty little fingers. They both looked up at each other's wings which were still glowing.

"Wait right here, I want to try something," Flake stated.

The fairy stood and watched as Flake flew off. When Flake continued to grow further and further away the fairy's wings' glow began to fade. Then Flake raced back over to her.

"Did your wings dim the further I went?".

"Yeah, how did you know?".

"Mine did too!".

"This is getting kinda freaky, I don't know if we should be here,".

"It's like our wings are connected, in a weird kind of way,". It seemed that Flake had ignored the fairy's comment and continued on talking. "I'm Flake, what's your name?".

"Ilene, and I'm a light fairy,".

"I make snowflakes, see,". Flake picked up some snow off the ground and spun it on her fingertip. With her other hand she designed the snowflake.

"That's so cool! You live in the Winter Woods?". Ilene's uneasiness began to fade.

"Yeah,".

"It must be so beautiful over there with all the snow and ice! The only time I ever see snow is when we bring spring to the mainland. Its sad though because its my job to melt it all 'cause I'm a light fairy and all that,".

"Doesn't it snow in the other seasons?".

"No, it's too warm for snow or anything,".

"How can you live in a world without snow!".

Ilene, let out a tinkly little laugh. "We don't have snow but we do have other things like flowers and insects,".

"What are insects?".

"You know, butterflies, lady bugs, bees?".

Flake simply stared at her with a confusing expression.

"You really don't know what an insect is?".

Flake shook her head.

Ilene let out a quiet yawn.

"Come back here tomorrow,".

"What about Queen Clarion and Lord Milori?".

"What do you mean?".

"What if they see us?".

"They won't, don't worry so much. Just meet me here again tomorrow, got it?".

"Ok...".

"Great, see you then,", and Flake was off, back into the Winter Woods, off to the North side.

* * *

What seemed like only minutes was in fact hours, and Flake wasn't able to get much sleep before the first light of day had shown in the sky. Her friends would question her absence if she stayed in bed and she knew she couldn't add another lie on top of the other ones she was already telling them. So Flake forced herself out of bed and got ready to take on the day.

Flying wasn't an option, that took too much energy and she didn't have that much as it was. On the other hand walking would seem suspicious, but dropping out of the sky from exhaustion would be worse. She finally decided to trudge through the snow.

Lord Milori watched as Flake stumbled through the snow. It seemed odd for her, she was always bright and cheery unlike this morning. Several thoughts of suspicion crossed his mind.

After being lost in thought for a few moments he returned his gaze towards Flake, but she was gone. His worried thoughts escaped him. Stop jumping to conclusions! Although he still found himself being distracted by other thoughts, most of which being of Clarion.

Winter was within a few weeks so now was a time for crucial preparations. He went on carrying out his duties by checking on the snowflake baskets which were stacked in rows. When he came forward everyone paused their work.

"How are the baskets?".

A fairy with dark short hair stepped forward, "Well sir, all the baskets are accounted for, but,", the fairy trailed off.

"But?".

"It's not our fault Lord Milori, snowflake production is running low,", a sparrowman behind the fairy, answered.

"As long as we're making progress that's fine,", Milori approached the baskets and looked them over.

The fairies nodded back to him.

"You are all doing your jobs and that is all I ask," he paused a short moment, "I shall see to it what is keeping the other snowflake fairies,". He then flew off towards the deeper region of the forest.

When he reached the high trees of the snowflake fairies and sparrowman everything seemed fine. As far as he could see everyone was working as they should be.

Flake light headedly made a snowflake, afterwards she felt very dizzy. She could barely keep her balance and almost lost her footing, but quickly she stabled herself. When she went to toss her snowflake in the air she felt herself begin to fall and she knew there was no way to save herself.

The sudden screams and cries of many fairies and sparrowman caught Milori's attention. Quickly, he saw Flake falling through the air and he realized he had to do something. A sudden idea came to him and he immediately let out a sharp whistle.

Within moments Phoebus appeared and began to dart towards the falling fairy. Flake safely landed on his back and was slowly descended to the ground. Many fairies and sparrowman began to crowd around the bird but Flake only saw blurry outlines of them.

"Is she ok?" a fairy called out.

"What happened?" asked another.

"Is she going to be alright?", many similar questions followed.

Milori quickly ran over to them, the crowd grew quiet and made way for him. Flake could barely recognize him but she knew it was him.

"Take her to the infirmary," he ordered to the owl who then leaped into the air. Milori watched as the owl soon disappeared. The crowd behind him resumed their questioning. After another moment Milori then turned to face the crowd. "The rest of you resume your duties,".

They all followed his orders and flew back up to the tops of the trees.

Milori let out a sigh and started flying off towards the infirmary as well.


	6. Chapter 6

"She should be fine, she just needs a few hours rest," one of the nurses stated.

Milori let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness,". The few moments it had taken for the nurse to look over the fallen fairy had felt like hours to him. Finally he had the answer he needed and his nervous tension could fade.

"The poor thing, passed out due to lack of energy, couldn't even fly," the nurse went on. She was only a small bit taller than Flake and was thin with arms like toothpicks. The fairy had pale hair that would touch her shoulders if she didn't have it always either pinned up or pulled back. Her eyes were cold and intimidating, but the way she smiled and the fact that she always did gave her a kind escence. She was often one of the favored nurses among the winter infirmary. "Who knows what could have happened if you hadn't been there to save her,".

A sick feeling evolved in Milori's stomach. What would have happened if he hadn't been there to save her? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if she got hurt and he knew there had been some way to save her.

"I suggest she spend the night here so we can check up on her,".

"Very well then. Thank you for your services, I must now return to my own duties," Milori stated as he gave her a nod and exited silently.

The nurse noticed an odd sadness that she had never seen in the lord before. Flake was fine so this feeling was a mystery to her. Instead of pondering the thought for a while she dismissed the feeling as nothing of true importance to her and continued her work.

* * *

It was a few hours before Flake awoke and by then it was mid-afternoon. For a while she watched as the nurses hovered from patient to patient, checking temperatures and changing hot/cold compresses. The boredom was eating her alive and at one point she couldn't handle it anymore. Slowly she got up and snuck outside.

She was barely out the door before she bumped into someone. Milo. "Where do you think you're going?" he questioned.

"Um, no where,".

"You got that right. You're supposed to be in there resting, don't forget that you passed out and fell from the sky this morning,".

"But it's boring in there. Besides I'm all better now, see!". Quickly Flake hopped into the air and began to fly on past him, but within moments he was hovering in front of her and she had to stop.

"Flake, tell me what's really going on,".

She tilted her headly oddly and tried to seem confused, but she knew he could see right through her.

"You keep disappearing,".

Flake let out a sigh, "Can you keep a secret?".

"It depends,".

"Milo!".

"Fine, I can keep a secret,".

"Great!". She quickly grabbed his wrist and began pulling him through the air. Almost instantly the two disappeared into the forest.

"Flake, where are we going?".

"Just follow me,".

The two friends continued to weave in between the trees and through the forest. At one point Flake disappeared from his view and Milo found himself wandering aimlessly. "Flake? Flake! Flake!" he called out. He quickly looked around but still there was no sign of her. There was only the snow covered trees and bushes.

Milo let out a sudden yelp when something grabbed his arm. Immediately he came face to face with Flake. "Thank goodness it's you!".

"Come on, keep up this time!" Flake stated as she began flying off again.

This time Milo made sure she stayed in his sight and eventually they came to a clearing. Within a few moments he realized where they were. The border where spring touches winter. "Flake! What are we doing out here?". When she didn't reply to him he began to head back to the North side.

"Hold on, there's someone you need to meet,".

"Who? There's no one out here except us,".

"Just wait,".

He let out an annoyed sigh, "Fine,". After another couple minutes of waiting Milo began throwing stones into the creek and skipping them across the water.

"Flake?" a voice called out.

Milo looked up to see a fairy dressed in yellow across the way.

"Ilene!" Flake cheered.

The fairy dressed in yellow, who Milo assumed was Ilene, came racing over to Flake and hugged her tightly. "Are you alright? I heard about what happened! I didn't think you would come!" she cried.

"I'm fine," Flake paused a moment, "This is Milo, my best friend, he's a frost talent,".

Ilene looked over to him and he waved towards her.

"Oh, I want you to meet someone too!". Ilene let out a sharp whistle and suddenly another fairy appeared. She was wearing a pale blue outfit. "This is Hailey, she's a water fairy, and my best friend!".

Milo couldn't help but to stare at the fairy, there was something about her. Then something suddenly regained his attention.

"Wow, you too look practically alike!" Hailey noticed.

Milo then noticed it too, "Yeah, your eyes are the same color,".

"And your wings are glowing!".

"Oh they do that all the time. Well at least when we're near each other," Flake explained.

"Maybe you two are sisters!".

"What?" the other three asked in unison.

"Is that even possible?" Milo questioned.

"Who knows, but that doesn't mean it can't happen,".

"She's right," Ilene added.

They continued to ponder the thought for a while and they soon realized that they would all become close friends. Just before the sun was to set and the moon was to rise they all ventured home. Neither of them wanted to repeat the morning's earlier events.

* * *

"Lord Milori, Flake is missing!" one of the nurses stated as they flew up to him.

Milori had been checking up on the preparations again. This time he didn't have to worry about any fairies or sparrowmen dropping out of the sky.

"What? How could she be missing?" Milori asked as he dismissed the two fairies he had been speaking to.

"I had one of the other nurses check on her and she said that Flake wasn't in her cot. I didn't believe this myself but when I went to see I saw that it was true,".

Quickly the two hopped into the air and began to fly on back to the infirmary. Once they had reached the doors and went inside the nurse was surprised to see Flake lying in her cot. "This can't be! I saw it myself, she was gone!".

Milori believed that the nurse had been telling the truth and found no reason to deny her. "I don't doubt that she wasn't present when you say she was, but she is here now and that's what matters most," he paused a moment, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important matters to attend to,". The nurse nodded to him and he slowly exited the infirmary once more.

The nurse looked back to Flake a moment and began to question herself, but it wasn't long before she returned to her duties.

Flake appeared to be sleeping but she let out a quiet giggle and a huge grin came across her face.

* * *

**Sorry it had taken me so long to write I've been camping for the past couple of days with no time or way to write/type. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Both Clarion and Milori sat silently at the border. She could sense the uneasiness in him and could see the worry in his eyes. "Milori,".

He could obviously feel the concern in her voice and when he looked to her he tried to hide the emotion he knew she had seen. Milori couldn't even bring himself to smile.

"Something troubles you,". The amount of concern she had spoken with seemed to grow thicker.

"Oh, it's nothing to be worried about,". Clarion hadn't been the only one meant to hear those words. Milori had also hoped that he too would realize the truth of his own words.

She stared at him with an expression quite similar to the Keeper's when he too tried to get Milori to divulge his thoughts. Although Milori often tried to keep his thoughts to himself, he soon realized that either Clarion or the Keeper would be able to get them out of him.

He let out a short sigh and then began to explain what happened, "This morning there was an incident,".

"Incident?".

"Flake had fallen from one of the trees,".

Clarion felt a sudden shortness of breath. "Is she alright?" was all she could manage to say at the moment.

Milori instantly noticed her tension and grasped her hand in his own all while finally being able to manage a brief smile. Her anxiousness dissipated for a moment. "Flake is fine, she's recovering in the infirmary. Luckily, I had been there to call one of the owls to her rescue," he assured her.

"Thank heavens she's alright, but why does it still worry you?".

"It's not exactly that, it's more of what I had heard later that morning about what could have happened if I hadn't been there,".

"None of that matters though,".

"But what if I hadn't been there? I couldn't live with myself if Flake, in fact anyone, had gotten hurt under my rule,". Slowly he stood up and began to slowly walk along the edge of the creek. He began to lightly kick the few small stones that were there, into the water.

Clarion got to her feet as well and followed after him. "Milori,". There was less concern in her voice this time, her tone was more straightforward.

Milori barely turned towards her, but out of the corner of his eye he watched her and waited for her next words.

"You can't blame yourself, none of this is your fault,". As hard as she tried Clarion could not get him to see what truly mattered.

He gave a slow exhale and returned his gaze to the quiet flowing creek once more.

"You can not guilt yourself over everything that happens under your rule,".

Milori let out a sigh before replying to her, "As ruler to the winter fairies and sparrowmen it is my job to protect them, therefore whatever happens to them is my fault,".

Clarion looked down in despair. She was about to give up on convincing him that the fault was not his own.

"If something happens to any of the fairies it is my responsibility. I should always be there to stop anything that could bring harm to them," he paused a moment, "But if I am not there to save them, I, as a ruler, must take the blame upon myself,".

At these words a sudden thought came to Clarion. "No,".

Milori instantly looked to her in somewhat of a surprise. No?

"As a ruler it is not your responsibility for everything that happens, and things will happen. But your responsibility as a ruler is to take care of the problem and to see to it that it is solved," she paused a moment, "If you hadn't been there to save Flake it would have been your job to see to it that she was alright and to bring her to the attention of the healing fairies,".

Milori realized the words Clarion had spoken made sense now.

"You mustn't blame yourself, you must act like the ruler your people think you are,".

She was right and he knew it, there was no reason to argue with her any further. A much brighter thought came to him suddenly. He turned towards her and grinned, "How is it that you are always right?".

* * *

The Crow King stared at the two smokey figures he saw in his crystal orb. A smile as evil as he was crept onto his face. "Interesting, his majesty seems to be very fond of this one, she holds a place within his heart unlike the others,".

Two crows suddenly appeared on his shoulder. One had round taupe eyes whereas the other had pale ones. With a simple nod from the king the pale eyed one leaped off his shoulder and flew towards a perch.

"Goliath, I have a job for you," he spoke to the crow that remained on his shoulder. Almost silently he whispered orders to the sleek black feathered crow. Afterwards the crow gave a sharp screech and an acknowledging nod before leaping off of the king's shoulder and flying out of the cave as it was joined by the one that had been waiting on its perch.

The Crow King looked into his crystal orb once more except this time it was focused on one of the figures. "I shall use her to break his heart and finally fulfill my vengeance," he sneered and laughed evilly, "but first...". The image quickly changed to another of a small fairy, "I will make him suffer,".

* * *

**Hope you guys liked the chapter! :D I'll try and post another tomorrow!**

**For those of you reading 'King of the Never Owls' it will be on hold until I finish 'The Warmth of Winter'. "Hidden Deep Within the Ice' is on hold as well. I promise that I will write 'The Warmth of Winter' as quickly as possible and I will try to post a chapter each day.**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning a meeting was held amongst the ministers and Queen Clarion. It was no surprise to her that the ministers had called for the meeting though.

As Clarion calmly walked down the maze like hallways of the tree she suddenly felt light headed, but only for a moment. Once she had regained herself she continued on through the seemingly never ending corridor.

She stopped all of a sudden, for a moment she thought she had heard the caw of a crow. Soon after her light headedness returned. When Clarion became focused once more she regarded the sound as nothing more than her own imagination. Her head began to throb slightly as she carried on down the passageway until, finally, she found herself at the doors of the meeting hall.

Inside the ministers were all seated, but they didn't appear as if they had waited long. "What is the purpose of this meeting?" Clarion asked as she sat down at the head of the table.

"Your highness, it's about the changing of the seasons," Sunflower answered.

Clarion stared at the ministers, somewhat surprised by their words.

"How can giving the winter fairies and sparrowmen wings assure that our problem is solved? How do we know the Lord of Winter can handle this?" Hyacinth explained.

Now Clarion was truly taken aback by their reasoning. Her feelings regarding the situation were obvious to them.

"What the Minister of Spring means to say is, how can we be sure that the Lord of Winter is capable of handling an entire season?" Redleaf added after a moment.

Snow rolled her eyes at the sparrowman, obviously annoyed by his thoughts towards the winter sparrowman.

"The Lord of Winter has made sure everything is fine with the preparations before. I trust that he can easily do it again," Clarion answered.

For a few moments the minister talked quietly amongst themselves, but Clarion didn't even bother to try and listen. Her headache had begun to worsen and now she was lightly rubbing her temples in an attempt to ease the evolving pounding in her head. Yet again she had thought she heard the ear splitting noise of a screeching crow.

Redleaf glanced to her a moment and noticed the unusual tension in her at that moment. "Queen Clarion, are you alright?". At that the other three ministers looked towards her as well.

In that instant the screeches stopped. Clarion refrained from continuing to rub her temples and focused on the ministers once again. "No need to worry, I'm quite alright,".

The ministers then returned to their bickering once more. After a few more moments the meeting came to an end and everyone was dismissed. The ministers of Spring, Summer, and Winter left and parted in two ways down the hall.

Redleaf had stayed behind for just a moment longer and was now standing beside the queen. For the remainder of the meeting she had seemed distracted after he had noticed her tenseness. "Queen Clarion, are you sure you are alright?".

"Yes, minister," she chuckled. He nodded to her once more and then exited the room.

Eventually, Clarion left the meeting hall as well, but the moment she set foot outside its doors her migraine intensified. She tried to ignore it at least long enough to make it back to her chambers, but was to no avail. Clarion began to feel dizzy and light headed once again. As a result of this she was forced to place her hand on the wall to keep her balance.

Within moments the the squawks of crows returned to her and this time she was sure it was not of her own imagination. The sound made her ears ring with pain which only intensified her headache even more. At that moment all Clarion had wanted to do was drop to the floor, the aching pain was too much.

In the next moment she did, Clarion collapsed and fell to the floor. The crow's shrieks seemed to magnify along with the pounding in her head. She was unable to call out to anyone who might be nearby and was barely able to keep her eyes open as she watched helplessly as her crown bounced and slowly rolled down the hallway.

Not to far ahead was the ministers of Spring and Winter. The two had been continuing the conversations of the meeting between themselves. Hyacinth suddenly paused the discussion for a moment. "Did you hear that?".

"Yes, it sounded like something or someone had fallen,".

The two then began to cautiously walk down the hallway back towards the meeting hall. At the end of the corridor just before it turned the ministers noticed something shiny lying on the floor. "What is that?" Snow asked as they quickened their pace.

Once close enough they immediately recognized it, "Queen Clarion's crown!", the two cried in unison.

Hyacinth picked the crown up off the floor, "But this can only mean...".

Snow stared behind him for a moment and her eyes grew wide causing Hyacinth to stop his sentence. He turned around and they were both horrified to see Queen Clarion collapsed on the floor. "Queen Clarion!". Instantly the two ran towards her and were by her side.

Clarion only saw the two as blurred figures, but when they were right in front of the she recognized them. She saw the concern and fear in their eyes. Their mouths moved, but she could not hear them. The only thing she heard was the caws of a crow still echoing in her head. Even if she had been able to understand them she could not reply to them.

In moments the other two ministers were by her side as well. One of them took her hand but she could not tell who. She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and she finally let them fall shut. The last thing she saw was the terrified looks on each of the ministers faces.

* * *

**Let me know if you guys liked the chapter. Feedback always helps! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

Dewey handed his most recent book completions to the fairy before him, "Hopefully, the bookworms won't these ones this time,".

"I have to say, those worms sure enjoy your bug and leaf writings. Half the pages are either missing or are too eaten up to read," the fairy added as she handed two other books to the Keeper.

Dewey carefully flipped through the pages, trying not to tear the holes any further. Fiona who was now much larger than a kitten, but still not fully grown loomed over his shoulder and watched. "These should be an easy fix, I should be able to return them in the next few days,".

"Thank you, Keeper,". With a simple nod the fairy was of back towards the Summer Meadow and Spring Time Square.

"Alright, let's go Fiona," Dewey said as they began their journey back towards the North side.

"Keeper! Wait!" a voice called out. Dewey turned to see that it was a highly decorated messenger fairy. He had never seen her before, perhaps she was one of Queen Clarion's very own messengers.

Dewey flew back to the edge of the border. The messenger bowed to him as did he to her and immediately she handed him a letter. "This letter is for the eyes of the Winter Council only," the fairy stated sternly.

Dewey gave her a nod of acknowledgement and then the fairy was off to deliver more letters. The Keeper opened the letter and carefully let his eyes skim over the words, but then something suddenly caught his attention causing him to reread the entire thing more thoroughly.

Once he had finished he glanced up to see that no one else was around. Dewey quickly folded up the letter and placed it in his pocket. Then he hopped up onto Fiona and they rode off into the Winter Woods.

It wasn't long before the two were up in the mountains once more. Fairies and sparrowmen were all rushing around and getting together the preparations. "Excuse me," he called to one of the passing fairies. The fairy paused what she had been doing and turned back towards the Keeper. "Do you know where I might find Lord Milori?".

"I do believe he had gone searching for you. He's probably at your library at this very moment," she replied.

"Thank you," then immediately Fiona bound off towards the library.

Within moments they arrived and the two slowly entered through the tall doors. Across the room Lord Milori was looking over the book that was on Dewey's pedestal. "I will never understand how you can live like this everyday. Constantly being surrounding by stacks and stacks of unorganized books," he laughed without looking up, a smile noticeably on his face.

"Believe it or not this is some of the best it's ever looked, but at the moment there is a more pressing matter,".

"Yes, of course, the preparations for Winter. Speaking of which,", Milori still didn't look up from the book.

"No, there is something, far more concerning at the moment,".

Milori instantly looked up when he heard these words. "What could possibly be more important than the preparations? All of Pixie Hollow is counting on the winter fairies to bring Winter to the mainland on time,".

"It's Queen Clarion,".

Milori's smile turned into a confused frown as the Keeper then came up to him and handed him a letter of some sort from his pocket. He glanced from the note back to the Keeper. After a moment he began to read it silently.

Dear council members,

A tragedy has occurred. Early this morning Queen Clarion collapsed in the hallway and passed out soon after words. We are sad to say she has not awoken yet, it is also unknown as to when she will wake up. All we ask is that this is kept a secret for the time being. There is no need to worry the fairies and sparrowmen.

Milori couldn't read the rest, not that there was all too much left of it anyway.

"Lord Milori, I'm..." Dewey began.

The Lord of Winter dropped the letter and immediately exited the library without a word.

Dewey let out a sigh and picked the letter up off the floor and place it on his pedestal.

For the remainder of the day no one saw Lord Milori. The Keeper arranged for small groups to search for him, but they had all come back with the same news. In his absence the Keeper was forced to take over the rest of his duties.

Late that night, long after everyone else had gone to bed, Milori finally reappeared. He rode Phoebus silently through the air and above the trees. His intended destination was obvious.

Milori was like a ghost as he crept into Clarion's room. He was thankful to find her safe and unharmed, but she was shivering quite intensely. Silently, Milori took his cape, one of the very things that had brought them together so many times before, and he carefully wrapped it around her.

For a few moments he watched as she slept silently, but he knew that even though the night was was cooler than the day he still could not stay long. After a minute more he lightly kissed her hand and left.

Shortly after guards who were accompanied by the Minister of Autumn silently entered the room for a moment. One of the guards had thought they had heard something and they had immediately alerted the minister, but right now no one was there except for the queen.

Something caught Redleaf's attention, the feathered cape wrapped around Queen Clarion. He knew he had seen it before, but where?

Either he was the only one to notice it or the guards simply hadn't cared because they had left the room only after a short while of being there. Not long after Redleaf left the chamber as well, but he was still left with that one puzzling question.

* * *

**Hope you liked it!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Crows screeched loudly as Milori tried to fight them off. Each time one of the birds went to snap at him he would quickly fly out of their way, but then one finally was able to reach him. Clarion could only watch as he fell._

_When he landed they were both suddenly in barred cages that kept them apart. Milori was obviously in pain when she noticed him holding his side and it brought tears to her eyes when she saw his broken wing. Everything was so cold Clarion couldn't help but to shiver. He immediately turned and reached his hand out towards her through the bars of the cage. She reached out to him as well, but when their hands were about to meet everything disappeared and she dropped to the floor._

_A loud piercing noise causes her to look up to see an owl baying down at her. She cowered in fear, not daring to get up. Clarion tried to call out to someone but she could not speak, she was too afraid. Then all at once everything went black._

Clarion finally awoke to find herself in her room once more, both startled and terrified by the dream that would not let her wake. It was a horrible nightmare, but it felt very real and it's memory still lingered with her. Although she had been asleep for almost a day it had made her feel even more tired than before. She began to shiver and she wrapped the blanket that was around her tighter. It was then that she realized that it wasn't a blanket at all, but an owl feathered cape.

It's presence surprised her yet it also brought a sort of comfort with it. The smooth white feathers were softer than anything she had ever touched and they brought a special warmth with them. Even though it eased her uneasiness, she also knew what it meant. He had come, risking his life.

Later that morning another letter was sent out stating the Queen Clarion had awakened. She had been allowed a day's rest. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes she needed it. Nevertheless, every so often someone had been sent to check on her to make sure she had not fallen into another unwakeable sleep.

These letters were sent out to every council member, relieving some of them of their stress. Lord Milori had received the letter and had gladly passed it on to the Keeper. He then set it aside with the other note.

Flake later came to the library with the hope of asking Dewey a question. He was busy speaking with another sparrowman. To pass the time she began to look around. There was the usual books and writings that he did, stacked in piles, but then there was something else on his pedestal. Two letters. The fairy, unnoticeably, snatched the two letters and quickly read them over.

Afterwards she folded them up and exited the library as if she had never been there in the first place. Considering neither Dewey or the sparrowman had noticed her she seemed to have done well at it.

Once the sparrowman left Dewey turned back to his pedestal. "Flake?" he called out, but there was no answer. "I'm pretty sure I had seen her,". He glanced around the empty library again and called out once more. Still no answer. "Oh well, if she needs me she knows where to find me,".

That afternoon Flake showed the letters to her friends. "I hope Queen Clarion is alright," Hailey said after reading the second one.

"Did any of you guys know about this?" Flake asked.

"No," Ilene answered in a surprised tone.

"Me either, but it would explain why Lord Milori disappeared yesterday," Milo added as he finished reading the letters as well.

"It doesn't matter that they didn't tell us. What we should do is find a way to celebrate! They should at least know about us now," Hailey stated.

"She's got a point,".

"Then what should we do?".

"I think I might have an idea," Ilene answered.

Late in the evening Clarion and Milori met at the border once again. The two instantly rushed into each others arms and held one another close. "Thank goodness, you're alright," Milori whispered to her.

Clarion immediately handed him his cape, "I don't know if I should be mad at you or not for risking your life just to come check on me,".

"Don't be, you know you would have done the same,".

She smiled warmly at him and the two enjoyed the presence of each other for a few long moments. Suddenly flashes of light cascaded over them and when they looked up they saw a fairy guiding a line of fireflies. Another fairy, a water talent began to weave a column around them and a sparrowman, assumed to be a frost talent, froze the column. The fireflies began to spin around the frozen water and within moments it shattered into sparkling tiny flakes of ice. It was simply beautiful. Then snowflakes began to dance around them from above.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Clarion whispered to Milori. He simply shrugged and she took it as genuine confusion.

When the last of the snowflakes fell four fairies appeared hovering before them. Flake was easily recognized, except there was another fairy that was practically identical to her. Both of their wings were glowing. The four fairies simply smiled to the two rulers and then they were off.

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**Sorry I took so long to post this, I would have posted earlier but I was actually doing something instead of being glued to my tablet. Thank you to those of you who review my story, your comments always help. I hope you all liked this chapter! I promise to post another tomorrow XD (and this time much earlier than now) Thank you for reading my story :)**


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a few days since Clarion and Milori had found out about Flake and the others. Today was the final day of going over preparations and everything was running as smooth as ever. Over the next few days they would be traveling the world to bring winter to the mainland.

Milori walked through the dim lit cave and carefully watched as animal fairies checked them over to make sure they were ready for tomorrow's flight. Everything was calm and quiet as the owls stood silently. Then suddenly there was a loud screeching towards the back of the cave. Both the animal fairies and the owls turned to see what the commotion was.

An owl suddenly leaped out of place. It quickly began to ram itself into the walls of the cave. The owls would only move out of his way as fairies began to chase after it. He tried to flap his wings once or twice, but it kept shrieking when he tried.

Milori hadn't moved from where he'd been standing and watched as the owl came charging towards him. All the fairies froze thinking the owl would attack him, but it stopped. The owl let out huge puffs of breath and stare angrily at the sparrowman.

Milori's eyes were narrowed as he stared deeply back at it. He placed his hand on the flat of its beak and watched as the fear and anger slowly escaped the bird. Its breathing became slower and more calm.

A fairy was suddenly by Milori's side, "What happened?".

"I don't know, when I tried to go near his wing he lost control,".

He then noticed the owl's wing was oddly positioned. Milori nodded and then slowly began to move his hand down the side of the owl's large body. As he came closer to its wing he could feel the muscles in its body tense. Finally, his hand grazed the edge of the owl's wing and the owl flinched fiercely.

Slowly, Milori turned and looked at the underside of the wing. The fairies all watched in amazement, surprised by the owl's calmness. Under the wing Milori could see a thin chip of wood stabbing into both the owl's wing and its side. Carefully, he removed it and threw it into one of the nearby bowls of fire. Immediately the owl's tension disappeared and the fairy then guided it back in place.

With a nod the fairies all got back to work and Miloro exited the cave. Once outside Milori looked out across woods below. Then he looked out toward the border, he could see tiny figures and he had to squint to be able to see them. Instantly he recognized them. Crows. There were two of them at the border! _Flake._

He hadn't seen her since early that morning. She was probably there now, at the border! Milori quickly hopped into the air and began flying down towards the ground. He continued onward just above the trees.

When he was nearly there he heard screams and he quickened his pace. Within moments he's at the border to find both Flake and Ilene being chased by a crow. Then, in a matter of seconds, the two are corned. Everything suddenly goes black for a second but then all of a sudden Milori is standing in front of the girls yelling, "Run!".

Quickly Milori throws a few punches at the crow causing it to take a few hops backward. Then Milori suddenly blacked out once more and this time the only thing that brought him back to reality was two screams. All of a sudden the crow he had been fighting was on the ground. Milori quickly whipped around to a crow baying down at the two fairies.

"No!" Milori called out as he began to run over to them, but within an instant he is lying in the snow. The crow he had fought was now standing on top of him, digging one of its claws into his thigh and the other was being used to twist his arm behind his back. He could feel his arm snap under the pressure and Milori grunted in pain, "No! Don't hurt them!". He was then forced to watch the life and all that was good be sucked away from them.

Then, the screams stopped. The crow hopped off of him and disappeared along with the other one back into the sky. Milori got to his feet, stumbling a few times as he did. "No, no, no!". He quickly ran, not caring about the pain he was in, over to where the girls had been. There lay two motionless fairies held in each others arms, he watched as the glow of their wings faded.

A crowd slowly gathered at the edge of the woods and the border as tears began to well in his eyes. Suddenly he could sense that a fairy was beside him. The gasp of surprised made him instantly realize it was Clarion. She reached for his hand and all of a sudden the pain in his leg gradually disappeared and his arm felt as if it had mended itself. She then burst into tears and began to cry, he welcomed her into his arms.

Dewey then made it to the front of the crowd. When he saw both Clarion and Milori sobbing he knew something was wrong. Then he saw. Tears began to stream down his cheeks. Flake had told him so much about her sister and they had always hoped that one day they would meet, but now they never will.

Gasps were suddenly let out and both Clarion and Milori looked over to see that Milo and Hailey had finally joined the crowd. The two came forward, it made the two rulers feel even worse to have to watch as the two fairies saw their deceased friends.

Everyone was crying, even the ministers and those who hadn't known Flake or Ilene. The clouds darkened and then there was officially no happiness left in world.

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**I'm so sorry I didn't post this sooner! I guess I didn't exactly post this sooner than yesterday because I actually posted it later. I was kind of lazy today. I hope you liked the chapter! If something was messed up or something give me a break it's 3 a.m my time *YAWN* Good night! For some of you good morning! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Winter fairies giggled and laughed about the fun they had on the mainland. Some were talking about the animals they had seen hibernating. Others were talking about how much fun it had been to skate across an entire lake, but while the fairies and sparrowmen joyously flew back to the winter there was someone who just wasn't happy like the others. Lord Milori.

They had all been distracted by the happiness of bringing winter to the mainland, but Milori had not stopped thinking about Flake. She would have loved to go to the mainland and explore as much as possible, but now she never will. It had been a few days since the attack and he still could not get over it. He was practically furious with himself for doing so though, but the sadness of his failure still followed him.

Milori flew above the owls and the fairies, watching to make sure they were safe. "It's all my fault, I should have been able to save them,".

Clarion stood at a balcony, looking over the fairies as they worked. Most of them were scrambling around while trying to prepare for the oncoming Spring. She too could not stop thinking about Flake and Ilene. The two had been so young, they did not deserve what came of them.

"Queen Clarion?" a voice asked.

She didn't reply or even turn towards the person who had spoken, she just let out a sigh and continued to watch the fairies. Now someone was beside her, observing the fairies below. Clarion only had to glance out of the corner of her eye to see the Minister of Autumn.

"Queen Clarion, it's been days, we still need to discuss the arrangements of the two fairies," Redleaf said in a kind tone, knowing what her feelings were towards the situation.

"I know," there was a sadness in her voice and she just couldn't hide it.

"Then why don't we," he was suddenly cut-off by a scream from down below.

The two immediately looked down at the fairies to see them all staring up. A shadow suddenly washed over them and they too glanced upward to see a crow flying above them. Queen Clarion and Redleaf were then join bed by the other ministers as they followed the crow. A crowd of fairies began to follow them as well.

Meanwhile, the winter fairies and sparrowmen were unloading and reloading supplies for their next trip to the mainland in a few days. "Baskets go over there! We need everyone to be working!" Lord Milori called out.

"Right here?" a group of fairies asked.

"That's good!". He was looking over a list and for a moment he had thought he had head a screech. If he had it was very distant. Then suddenly there was a screech and it was loud and ear-splitting. A shadow cascaded over everyone and then they all saw a crow soaring above them, towards the border. Without another thought, Milori hopped into the air and flew down towards the border as well.

Once at the border Milori saw Clarion and the ministers, along with practically every fairy in Pixie Hollow was there as well. By this he also knew that his own subjects had followed him as well. He then approached Clarion and the ministers who had been all standing at the middle of the border.

When Clarion sees him so do the ministers. "What is going on?".

"I don't know, but it definitely isn't good,".

Then out of nowhere a puff of smoke appears and a ginormous crow is before them. Fairies quickly move out of the way as the crow touches down in the snow. "Ah, fairies, there hasn't been fairies in hundreds of years, until now,".

A tension slowly began to form in Milori, but Queen Clarion suddenly felt weakened for a moment. She had seen this crow before, in a dream. Its loud screeches began to echo in her head.

"That's right, you should all be terrified of me," the crow stated when he saw the look of fear in the fairies faces, "because I, Nefarious, King of the Crows, am one to feared,".

He was taking slow steps forward when he finally saw Clarion. "Your highness, enjoy those little dreams I sent you?", his tone was very taunting.

Milori instantly looked to her and saw the fear in her eyes. It was then that he truly understood.

"Enjoy the last few days of your worthless lives because as of today they are numbered!" Nefarious boomed.

Gasps were let out amongst the fairies and whispers could be heard.

"I shall be rid of you all, and there will be nothing that can stop me!". There was a moment of silence, but then he noticed something, "Ah, Milori, I didn't recognize you like this,".

Bith Clarion and the ministers suddenly looked to him.

"None of this would have been possible without you. I never would have found out about these fairies if it wasn't for you,".

All eyes were officially on Milori, but he could only look to Clarion. There was a look of confusion and hurt in her eyes.

"Remember these words fairies! A storm is coming,", and with that Nefarious disappeared in another cloud of smoke.

After that everything was chaotic and all of the fairies and sparrowmen were running around screaming. The ministers were quickly trying to calm them, but it wasn't very effective.

All the while Clarion was frozen staring at Milori with a very horrified and scared look on her face. Milori could only mouth the words _I'm sorry_ to her.

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**I am so sorry I haven't been posting for the past couple of days, I most likely will post another chapter today to catch up. I really hope you like it!**

**ATTENTION:**

**I have multiple thing to say here.**

**1. There is a new Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy trailer. It is a little bit different from the trailer titled 'Quest for the Queen'. It starts out the same and has some actual scenes from the movie towards the end. So if you have free time you should check it out.**

**2. I know some people and I found out about the rumor of a seventh Tinker Bell movie! (After 'Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy). This one is called (Name will probably be changed like other movies have in the past) 'The Legend of the Never Beast'. It is rumored to have Fawn as the main character and will is expected to be released in 2015. Check out my profile if you want to see the potential plot.**


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